Landlord Action has called for more evictions to be transferred to the High Court, in a direct appeal to the Ministry of Justice.
The eviction specialist believe the length of time it is taking for a County Court bailiff appointment to be sorted once a possession order has been granted is having a detrimental financial effect on landlords.
Campaign
As a result , Landlord Action has started a campaign to try and allow more eviction cases to be moved up to the High Court by county court authorities. Under current regulations, once a possession order has been granted and if a tenant remains in occupation, the landlord’s only option is to apply for a county court bailiff to evict the tenant.
However, in many cases, bailiffs do not have room for an appointment for up to three months.
‘During this period, the tenant will most likely not be paying rent and the landlord will not be able to recover that lost rent from the tenant, nor will he/she be able to let the property out or even make future preparations to do so,’ noted Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action.[1]
He went on to say that there have even been instances of, ‘bailiffs not turning up at all, which results in the landlord having to wait a further eight to twelve weeks- a total of six months additional lost rent. Only recently a bailiff attended an eviction for one of our clients, she had 14 evictions that day.’[1]
Proposals
Landlord Action has proposed that a clear directive be handed out to county court district judges, which will encourage them to allow leeway on possession hearings. This will in turn enable cases to be transferred up to the High Court in instances where there is a number of cases that have fallen behind evictions of more than four to six weeks.
‘We feel that the judges at hearings should have sight of the bailiff’s dairies and if dates go over four to six weeks, then cases should automatically be transferred up,’ explained Shamplina. ‘We always try and make sure that seven days’ notice of the eviction date is given to the tenant, allowing them time to remove their items and vacate, as well as take the Notice to the Council for rehousing.’[1]
At present, there is a reluctance to grant permission to transfer eviction cases to the High Court, as landlords do not legally need to give notice of the intended eviction, though this is advisable.
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/8/landlord-action-more-evictions-should-be-transferred-to-the-high-court